Fall
2006
Topic
Professional Standards
Committee
Standards and Practices Committee
In 1988 the Community College Reform Act (AB 1725) began a phase out of credentials in favor of a process for establishing minimum qualifications and the determination of equivalencies that are at least equal to the state-adopted minimum qualifications for a particular discipline. The recommendations of this paper provides a proposed equivalency model as well as the results of an equivalency survey and a legal opinion stating that local districts are not authorized to establish a single course equivalency.
Recommendations
- Equivalency must be determined primarily by discipline faculty.
- Equivalency processes for part-time faculty and "emergency hire" should be no different from equivalency for full-time faculty.
- Local senates must ensure that their district and college policies and processes do not allow for single-course equivalencies.
- Academic senates should assure consistency of the equivalency process.
- Equivalency decisions should be based on direct evidence of claims (e.g., transcripts, publications, and work products).
- Claims of equivalence must include how both general education and specialization are met.
- Human resources offices should NOT screen for equivalency.
- Local senates must never allow equivalency to be delegated to administration or classified staff.
- Equivalency policies should be reviewed every few years.
- Criteria for the acceptance of eminence as a means to establish equivalency must be clearly defined in hiring policy.
- Once the local equivalency process has reached a recommendation regarding an individual applicant, Education Code 87359(a) requires that the governing board include action on the equivalency as part of its subsequent hiring action.
- Additional training materials may be obtained from the Academic Senate Office and/or at its website.
Publication file